Confessions of a food addictz

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50 Amazingly Helpful Time-Tested Tips for the Kitchen

1. For cleaning smelly hands after chopping onions or garlic, just rub them on a stainless steel spoon. The steel is supposed to absorb the odor.

2. Fresh coffee beans can also absorb nasty odors from your hands.

3. If you happen to over-salt a pot of soup, just drop in a peeled potato. The potato will absorb the excess salt.

4. When boiling eggs, add a pinch of salt to keep the shells from cracking.

5. Never put citrus fruits or tomatoes in the fridge. The low temperatures degrade the aroma and flavor of these persnickety fruits.

6. To clean cast iron cookwear, don’t use detergents. Just scrub them with salt and a clean, dry paper towel.

7. Will milk curdle if it is allowed to boil? It turns out that this age-old piece of wisdom isn’t true, after all. Milk that has been boiled is perfectly safe to consume.

8. To clean an electric kettle with calcium buildup on the heating element, boil a mixture of half white vinegar and half water, then empty.

9. When storing empty airtight containers, throw in a pinch of salt to keep them from getting stinky.

10. If you are making gravy and accidentally burn it, just pour it into a clean pan and continue cooking it. Add sugar a little at a time, tasting as you go to avoid over-sugaring it. The sugar will cancel out the burned taste.

11. Burned a pot of rice? Just place a piece of white bread on top of the rice for 5-10 minutes to draw out the burned flavor. Be careful not to scrape the burned pieces off of the bottom of the pan when serving the rice.

12. Before you chop chili peppers, rub a little vegetable oil into your hands and your skin won’t absorb the spicy chili oil.

13. If you aren’t sure how fresh your eggs are, place them in about four inches of water. Eggs that stay on the bottom are fresh. If only one end tips up, the egg is less fresh and should be used soon. If it floats, it’s past the fresh stage.

14. To banish ants from the kitchen, find out where they are coming in and cover the hole with petroleum jelly. Ants won’t trek through the jelly. If they are coming under a door, draw a line on the floor with chalk. The little bugs also won’t cross a line of chalk.

15. Before making popcorn on the stove or in an air popper, soak the kernels in water for 10 minutes. Drain the water, then pop as normal. The additional moisture helps the popcorn pop up quicker and fluffier with fewer “old maids.”

16. Don’t store your bananas in a bunch or in a fruit bowl with other fruits. Separate your bananas and place each in a different location. Bananas release gases which cause fruits (including other bananas) to ripen quickly. Separating them will keep them fresh longer.

17. To keep potatoes from budding in the bag, put an apple in with them.

18. If you manage to have some leftover wine at the end of the evening, freeze it in ice cube trays for easy addition to soups and sauces in the future.

19. To clean crevices and corners in vases and pitchers, fill with water and drop in two Alka-Seltzer tablets. The bubbles will do the scrubbing.

20. After boiling pasta or potatoes, cool the water and use it to water your house plants. The water contains nutrients that your plants will love.

21. When you clean your fish tank, the water you drain can also be used to water your house plants. The nitrogen and phosphorus in fish droppings make aquarium water a great fertilizer.

22. When defrosting meat from the freezer, pour some vinegar over it. Not only does it tenderize the meat; it will also bring down the freezing temperature of the meat and cause it to thaw quicker.

23. The substance in onions that causes your eyes to water is located in the root cluster of the onion. Cut this part out in a cone shape, with the largest part of the cone around the exterior root section.

24. Taking the top layer off of a onion can also reduce the amount of eye-watering misery.

25. Toothpaste is a great silver cleaner.

26. Baking soda isn’t as effective a deodorizer for the fridge as that baking soda company would like you to believe. Activated charcoal is much better at absorbing fridge and freezer odors.

27. Baking soda is an extremely effective cleaner, though. Use it with vinegar to deodorize drains and clean stovetops and sinks.

28. A favorite tip of thousands of grandmas: when you nick your finger while cutting veggies, wait until the bleeding stops and paint on a layer of clear nail polish. It will keep juices out of the wound and won’t fall off into the spaghetti sauce like a bandage.

29. The jury is still out on what to put in the bag of brown sugar to keep it from going hard: a slice of apple, a piece of bread, and a shard of a terra cotta pot have all been used.

30. Got a nasty invisible splinter from your kitchen tools? Put a piece of adhesive tape on the area and then pull it off to remove the splinter.

31. When you burn yourself in the kitchen, just spread mustard on the affected area. Leave it for a while and it will ease the pain and prevent blistering.

32. For aluminum pans that are looking dull, just boil some apple peels in them. This will brighten up the aluminum and make your house smell yummy.

33. To keep cookies fresh, savvy grannies like to put some crumpled-up tissue paper in the bottom of the cookie jar.

34. If your salt is clumping up, put a few grains of rice in with it to absorb excess moisture.

35. To clean fruit stains off of your fingers, rub them with a fresh, peeled potato. White vinegar can also do the trick.

36. Keep iceberg lettuce fresh in the fridge by wrapping it in a clean, dry paper towel and storing lettuce and paper towel in a sealed baggie in the fridge.

37. If your loaf of bread is starting to go stale, just put a piece of fresh celery in the bag and close it back up. For some reason, this restores a fresh taste and texture to the bread.

38. Always keep an aloe vera plant in your kitchen. It’s invaluable when you scrape your arm or burn your finger. Just break off a leaf and rub the gel from the inside on the injury.

39. When making a soup, sauce, or casserole that ends up too fatty or greasy, drop in an ice cube. The ice will attract the fat, which you can then scoop out.

40. To reuse cooking oil without tasting whatever was cooked in the oil previously, cook a 1/4″ piece of ginger in the oil. It will remove any remaining flavors and odors.

41. If your milk always goes bad before you can finish it, try adding a pinch of salt to the carton when you first open it. It will stay fresh days longer.

42. Water that has been boiled and allowed to cool will freeze faster than water from the tap. This comes in handy when you’re having a party and need ice pronto.

43. Remove tea or coffee stains from your fine china by mixing up a paste of baking soda, lemon juice, and cream of tartar. Rub it over the stains and they’ll come off easily.

44. If two drinking glasses become stuck together after stacking, it’s not impossible to unstick them. Just put ice in the inner glass and dunk the outer glass in warm water. The warm glass will expand and the cold glass will contract, making the glasses separate easily.

45. For splinters under the fingernail, soaking the affected finger in a bowl of milk with a piece of bread in it is said to draw out the splinter.

46. Did grandpa ever give you a drink of cola for an upset tummy? It turns out that this is actually a pretty effective remedy. The sugar and carbonation can soothe many tummy problems - but it can also exacerbate others.

47. Putting salty bacon on a boil is said to “draw the poison out” of boils.

48. To help old wooden drawers (without runners) open and close smoothly, rub a candle on the tracks.

49. A cotton ball soaked in white vinegar and applied to a fresh bruise will reduce the darkness of the bruise and help it disappear sooner.

50. Drinking cranberry juice and eating blueberries regularly will help stave off urinary tract infections.

Source :Here

Tips and Tricks: Quick Baking Substitutions

Source: Here

Measurements Tips

15 Kitchen Tip Quickies

1. Whole tomatoes can be washed and frozen in containers or plastic bags. When you are ready to use simply thaw and the skin will slip right off and they are ready to be used in cooking. (Norma)
2.  When you get a good price on lemons, make big batches of fresh lemon juice at once. Freeze in measured 1/4 cup amounts so you can just take out the freezer bag or container to thaw when a recipe calls for lemon juice. You can also pour juice in muffin tins, freeze, then take them out and freeze in freezer bags. Make sure to freeze in measured amounts. (Sherry)
3. Next time you make meatballs, try this tip: roll meat mixture into a log then slice off even sized meatballs. Time saver! (Jennifer)
4. Perfect tiny meatballs tip: Use a melon baller. (Lisa)
5. Buy fresh chicken breasts in bulk then wrap individually before freezing in large freezer bags. You’ll be able to grab the exact amount of chicken breasts you need without having to pry them apart. (Cami)
6. Keep a roll of painters tape handy in the kitchen, it’s great to seal bags and such, re-sticks over and over (even stays sticky in the freezer). (Elizabeth)
7. Line refrigerator metal racks with large washable placemats, they catch all the spills and wipe up easily. (Helen)
8. Use a piece of bread with butter or oil to grease your casserole dishes easily. (Carol)
9. Wrap fresh herbs in slightly damp paper towels then seal in an airtight plastic bag and store in the refrigerator, these will keep fresh for a long time! (Brenda)
10. Try cooking vegetables in chicken or beef broth instead of water, delicious! (Kim)
11. Keep wooden chopsticks in the pantry canisters, use them to level off measurements for cups of flour or sugar. (Shannon)
12. Freeze wedges of lemons and limes then plop into glasses of water or iced tea. Good way to prevent the fruit from going to waste! Make sure to wash the outside of the fruit first before freezing. (Steve)
13. Freshen up dish racks by occasionally scrubbing them with a paste of baking soda and water. Removes stains and odors. (Dawn)
14. Place cookie cutter shapes on top of frosted cakes or cupcakes then drizzle candy sprinkles or colored coconut inside the shapes, remove cookie cutters and you have an original cake decoration done oh so simply! (Katy Lyn)
15. Save time on baked potatoes by first boiling them for 15 minutes to pre-cook. Then put them in a preheated oven to finish cooking. (Jody)

35 Kitchen Tips – A Collection Of Timeless Wisdom

1. A damp cloth under any bowl or dish in which you are stirring or beating something will keep it from sliding around.
2. Oil can openers and other kitchen gadgets with olive or cooking oil. Glycerin will work too.
3. When working with hot peppers and the heat gets into your hands, wash your hands in diluted bleach to stop the burn.
4. Salt and vinegar will remove tea stains from china. See also How To Remove Coffee & Tea Stains From Mugs.
5. Something boil over on the stove? A sprinkle of salt will absorb the juice and stop the smoking.
6. Sprinkle a handful of table salt over a “run over” in your oven. It will stop the burned smell until you are through baking and can wash it.
7. If your glass coffee pot gets cloudy, make tea in it. Tea’s tannic content will remove the film. See also How To Clean A Coffee Pot.
8. Some vinegar in a glass or cup placed in the refrigerator will do away with that ice box odor.
9. To remove any disagreeable odor from your hands or a cooking vessel, wash with apple cider vinegar.
10. If hands get stained from chopping vegetables, rub them with slices of raw potato.
11. Use vanilla extract to sooth cooking burns and to keep them from blistering. Cider vinegar also helps–just dab on the burn, reapply if necessary.
12. Put a large teaspoon of baking soda in thermos bottle, fill with boiling water and cap occasionally between use. All adhering material loosens, comes off and sweetens the bottle.
13. A rubber patch cut from an inner tube makes a good temporary sink stopper.
14. Replace worn kitchen shades with oilcloth–using the slat and roller from the old one. These are long wearing and washable.
15. Put a roll of shelf paper into an empty aluminum foil container, lets you tear off pieces quickly and neatly.
16. Line the tops of cupboards with sheets of wax paper to protect cupboards from grease buildup and no more messy cleanup jobs.
17. A cloth dipped in lemon juice will clean discoloration on aluminum pots and cookware. Rinse and wipe dry.
18. Bring back some shine to aluminum pans by boiling apple peels in them.
19. Mesh scouring pads make fine pincushions when you cover them with leftover scraps of materials.
20. To pick up slivers of broken glass, wet a piece of paper toweling and apply gently to surface, the slivers will cling to the wet towel.
21. When stirring anything hot, always use a wooden spoon. It never gets hot nor does it scratch the cookware.
22. Place a jar lid on the bottom of the double boiler. It will rattle when the water gets too low.
23. Neutralize strong cooking odors by boiling three teaspoons of ground clove in two cups water for 15 minutes. You can also heat vinegar on the stove top to clear the smell. See also Fragrant Home: 13 Simmering Pot Recipes.
24. If two glasses are stuck together, fill the top glass with cold water and set the bottom glass in hot water. Try to carefully twist the two glasses apart after a minute.
25. Make sure you let your metal pans cool before washing otherwise they may warp.
26. Boil a bit of vinegar and salt in an iron skillet to remove burned on bits.
27. Put the potato masher into cold water as soon as you’re done using it, it will clean easier.
28. Use a plastic knitting needle to use as a plunger in a narrow funnel opening that thick sauces won’t go through easily.
29. Use an egg slicer to slice butter into individual pats. This tip also works for fresh mushrooms.
30. Use foam meat trays between each plate of fine china when stacking for storage, will help prevent scratches.
31. Squeeze a wedge of lemon after handling fish, will remove the fish smell from your hands.
32. Don’t throw fat away even if it was used for frying fish and has retained the odor, simply fry a slice of potato in the fat and the potato will absorb the odor.
33. Dip rusted metalware in pure cider vinegar then let it dry. After a few days you should be able to wipe away the remaining loose particles.
34. When the edges get rough on plastic serving utensils, file the edges smooth with a new emery board.
35. Mark eggs to use up first with a pencil before filling tray with fresh eggs.

And here’s a fun one just for giggles:

• Never shake or poke a pop-up toaster to empty crumbs, instead use a chicken feather to brush them out.

Source :Here

More and More tips and trick coming soon-To be updated